Banished Is Nearly Done And Why Can't It Be Out Nowww?

If you are a connoisseur of modern-ish culture like myself, you'll no doubt remember a moving, soulful ballad by the Backstreet Boys entitled "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)." I can't help but hear it every time I find a new trailer for splendiferous-looking rural city builder Banished, seeing as a) each brief glimpse feels like a cruel game against my heart, because b) my heart desperately wants to play this game, and c) na na na na na I should've known from the start na na na na baby oh. So, good news and bad news. The good news is that Banished is in its final stages of development, and Shining Rock has released a spiffy new video to celebrate. The bad news, however, is that there's still no firm release date.

Looks pretty nice, right? That is, in large part, because it's getting pretty close to completion:

"I’m no longer adding new content to the game. From here on out it’s all testing features, fixing bugs, and smoothing out the gameplay experience. I know everyone wants to hear a firm release date, but I’m not giving one out today. I should have a definite date to share soon."

Banished's Steam page, meanwhile, currently lists a "late 2013" date, so I don't think it'd be too much of a stretch to expect it to make this year. Then again, game development is a dark and mysterious art riddled with precarious pitfalls and ample opportunities for certain death delay, so you never know.

But still, if you start getting all anxious and uncomfortable with anticipation now, the long-term strain on your nervous system probably won't kill you! At least, not in the near future. So that is a happy thing.